Friday, May 4th, 2018
In April of this year (2018) I was telling this to a group of female inmates in the Crow Wing County Jail. To my amazement, one of the women had been with Shirley in the short term program and confirmed to the group that my story was true. “Shirley is a real spitfire for Jesus she said.” I thought, “Shirley used to be a spitfire for drug abuse and crime; now she’s a spitfire for God.” Only the indwelling of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit could make that type of a transformation.
I could see hope on the faces of the 12 women I was talking to. It came alive when the inmate who know Shirley talked about her impressions about her from a first-person perspective. It’s as if they said, “If this can happen to Shirley, maybe there’s hope for us.” And that’s what I try to bring into each of my presentations – not me talking about my own testimony, for they can’t relate to that, but giving them the testimony of one of their own.
And so I tell about Shirley, and Michael and Tyler and Mitch and Shawn, sinners all and inmates all who refused to accept the claim that they were criminals needing to be separated from society. Their new identity is not in themselves and what they once did but in Jesus Christ and His righteousness. It is through grace they have been saved and they can withstand their punishment because He is right there with them. Praise God for his mercy to these men and women. Praise God for letting me be part of this ministry.